Literary Rate in India 2024
The literacy rate is defined as the percentage of literate persons of age 7 years and above. A person who can read and write a simple message in any language with understanding is considered literate.
According to the 2011 Census, there are 763,498,517 (76.34 crores) literate individuals in the country. Out of these, 434,683,779 (43.46 crore) are males and 328,814,738 (32.88 crore) are females. The overall literacy rate is 72.9%, with the male literacy rate at 80.89% and the female literacy rate at 64.64%.
Based on data from the National Statistical Office (NSO)
- India’s average literacy rate as of 2021 is 77.70%.
- At the national level, male literacy stands at 84.70%
- Female literacy stands at 70.30%.
| # | Literate Population 2011 | Literacy Rate 2011 | Literacy Rate 2021 |
| Persons | 763,498,517 | 72.99% | 77.70% |
| Males | 434,683,779 | 80.89% | 84.70% |
| Females | 328,814,738 | 64.64% | 70.30% |
According to the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5), adult women (aged 15-49) have a literacy rate of 71.5%, while adult men (aged 15-49) have a literacy rate of 87.4%.
Source: Census 2011, National Statistical Office (NSO) & National Family health Survey (NFHS-5)
Kerala at 96.2% is the state with the Highest Literacy rate and Andhra Pradesh’s literacy rate of 66.4% is the lowest among all states in India. The Male-Female gap at the all-India level is 12.9 % points with male literacy at 84.7% and female literacy at 70.3%. The gap between male and female literacy is the smallest in Kerala at just 2.2 % points and highest in Rajasthan at 23.3 %.
Below is the list of States & Union Territories with literacy rates.
| States & UTs | Male Literacy Rate % | Female Literacy Rate % | Average Literacy Rate % |
| A&N islands | 90.11 | 81.84 | 86.27 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 73.4 | 59.5 | 66.4 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 73.69 | 59.57 | 66.95 |
| Assam | 90.1 | 81.2 | 85.9 |
| Bihar | 79.7 | 60.5 | 70.9 |
| Chhattisgarh | 85.4 | 68.7 | 77.3 |
| Chandigarh | 90.54 | 81.38 | 86.43 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 86.46 | 65.93 | 77.65 |
| Daman & Diu | 91.48 | 79.59 | 87.07 |
| Delhi | 93.7 | 82.4 | 88.7 |
| Goa | 92.81 | 81.84 | 87.4 |
| Gujarat | 89.5 | 74.8 | 82.4 |
| Haryana | 88 | 71.3 | 80.4 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 92.9 | 80.5 | 86.6 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 85.7 | 68 | 77.3 |
| Jharkhand | 83 | 64.7 | 74.3 |
| Karnataka | 83.4 | 70.5 | 77.2 |
| Kerala | 97.4 | 95.2 | 96.2 |
| Lakshadweep | 96.11 | 88.25 | 92.28 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 81.2 | 65.5 | 73.7 |
| Maharashtra | 90.7 | 78.4 | 84.8 |
| Manipur | 86.49 | 73.17 | 79.85 |
| Meghalaya | 77.17 | 73.78 | 75.48 |
| Mizoram | 93.72 | 89.4 | 91.58 |
| Nagaland | 83.29 | 76.69 | 80.11 |
| Odisha | 84 | 70.3 | 77.3 |
| Puducherry | 92.12 | 81.22 | 86.55 |
| Punjab | 88.5 | 78.5 | 83.7 |
| Rajasthan | 80.8 | 57.6 | 69.7 |
| Sikkim | 87.29 | 76.43 | 82.2 |
| Tamil Nadu | 87.9 | 77.9 | 82.9 |
| Telangana | 80.5 | 65.1 | 72.8 |
| Tripura | 92.18 | 83.15 | 87.75 |
| Uttarakhand | 94.3 | 80.7 | 87.6 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 81.8 | 63.4 | 73.0 |
| West Bengal | 84.8 | 76.1 | 80.5 |
| All-India | 84.7 | 70.3 | 77.7 |
Source: Survey by National Statistical Office (NSO). *UTs & NE States based on 2011 Census
Indian States with High Literacy Rate
As per the National Statistical Office (NSO) data on state-wise literacy rate in the country Kerala ranked highest in the list with 96.2%. Next comes Mizoram at 91.58% followed by Delhi at third with 88.7%.
Top 10 States with Highest Literacy Rate
| # | State | Male | Female | Average |
| 1 | Kerala | 97.4 | 95.2 | 96.2 |
| 2 | Mizoram | 93.72 | 89.4 | 91.58 |
| 3 | Delhi | 93.7 | 82.4 | 88.7 |
| 4 | Tripura | 92.18 | 83.15 | 87.75 |
| 5 | Uttarakhand | 94.3 | 80.7 | 87.6 |
| 6 | Goa | 92.81 | 81.84 | 87.4 |
| 7 | Himachal Pradesh | 92.9 | 80.5 | 86.6 |
| 8 | Assam | 90.1 | 81.2 | 85.9 |
| 9 | Maharashtra | 90.7 | 78.4 | 84.8 |
| 10 | Punjab | 88.5 | 78.5 | 83.7 |
Source: survey by National Statistical Office (NSO). *UTs & NE States based on the 2011 Census
Indian States with Low Literacy Rate
As per the National Statistical Office (NSO) data on state-wise literacy rate in the country, Andhra Pradesh ranked Lowest in the list with 66.2% followed by Rajasthan (69.7%) and Bihar (70.9%).
States with the Lowest Literacy Rate
| # | State | Male | Female | Average |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 73.4 | 59.5 | 66.4 |
| 2 | Rajasthan | 80.8 | 57.6 | 69.7 |
| 3 | Bihar | 79.7 | 60.5 | 70.9 |
| 4 | Telangana | 80.5 | 65.1 | 72.8 |
| 5 | Uttar Pradesh | 81.8 | 63.4 | 73.0 |
| 6 | Madhya Pradesh | 81.2 | 65.5 | 73.7 |
| 7 | Jharkhand | 83 | 64.7 | 74.3 |
| 8 | Karnataka | 83.4 | 70.5 | 77.2 |
| 9 | Chhattisgarh | 85.4 | 68.7 | 77.3 |
| 10 | Jammu & Kashmir | 85.7 | 68 | 77.3 |
Source: survey by National Statistical Office (NSO). *UTs & NE States based on 2011 Census
Literary Rate Urban Vs Rural
The literacy rate among persons (aged 7 years and above) in India was about 77.7%. In rural areas, the literacy rate was 73.5% compared to 87.7% in urban areas.
| States | Rural Literacy Rate | Urban Literacy Rate | ||||
| Male | Female | Average | Male | Female | Average | |
| Andhra Pradesh | 67.5 | 53.4 | 60.4 | 86.3 | 73.1 | 79.6 |
| Assam | 89.4 | 79.9 | 84.9 | 96.1 | 91.4 | 93.8 |
| Bihar | 78.6 | 58.7 | 69.5 | 89.3 | 75.9 | 83.1 |
| Chhattisgarh | 84 | 65.6 | 75 | 91.8 | 82.3 | 87.2 |
| Delhi | 94.1 | 83.4 | 89.4 | |||
| Gujarat | 85.7 | 68 | 77 | 95.2 | 86.3 | 91.1 |
| Haryana | 85.8 | 66.4 | 77 | 92.5 | 81.2 | 87.3 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 92.3 | 79.2 | 85.6 | 97.8 | 93 | 95.5 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 84.9 | 66 | 75.8 | 88.5 | 75.7 | 82.6 |
| Jharkhand | 80.6 | 61.4 | 71.4 | 92.6 | 78.6 | 86.1 |
| Karnataka | 78.2 | 63.1 | 71 | 92.5 | 83.7 | 88.3 |
| Kerala | 96.7 | 94.1 | 95.4 | 98.2 | 96.4 | 97.3 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 77.9 | 61 | 69.8 | 91.4 | 79.5 | 85.8 |
| Maharashtra | 87 | 71.4 | 79.4 | 95.3 | 87.6 | 91.7 |
| Odisha | 82 | 67.3 | 74.9 | 94.4 | 85.9 | 90.2 |
| Punjab | 85.5 | 74 | 80 | 93.8 | 86.7 | 90.5 |
| Rajasthan | 77.6 | 52.6 | 65.5 | 91.1 | 74.6 | 83.5 |
| Tamil Nadu | 84.2 | 70.8 | 77.5 | 92.3 | 85.9 | 89 |
| Telangana | 70.6 | 53.7 | 62.1 | 91.7 | 79 | 85.5 |
| Uttarakhand | 93.1 | 79 | 86.1 | 97.4 | 85.9 | 92 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 80.5 | 60.4 | 70.8 | 86.8 | 74.9 | 81.2 |
| West Bengal | 82 | 72.6 | 77.4 | 91.4 | 84.7 | 88.1 |
| All-India | 81.5 | 65 | 73.5 | 92.2 | 82.8 | 87.7 |
Educational level of Different age groups
Percentage distribution of rural persons ( ages 15 years & above by highest completed levels of education)
- 31.5% were not literate,
- 20.9% were literate up to primary
- 17.2% were of level upper primary/middle,
- 24.9% were of levels secondary and higher secondary
- 5.7% were graduates & above.
Percentage distribution of urban persons (age 15 years & above by highest completed level of education)
- 13.9% were not literate,
- 14.7% were literate up to the primary,
- 14.0% were of level upper primary/middle,
- 35.8% were of level secondary and higher secondary
- 21.7% were graduates & above
Source: survey by National Statistical Office (NSO)